Black Hawks Edge Australian Team

The Newtown Black Hawks 13U baseball team played the U14 Heat team from Perth, Australia in Danbury on June 30. The Perth Heat baseball program brought three teams (U14, U16, U18) to visit the United States and play 30 games and visit various cities during late June and July.

The Black Hawks were able to squeak out a 4-3 win. Perth jumped out to an early lead but the Black Hawks came back. Michael Parker walked and Sam Czel had a clean hit to left field in the first, but the Hawks couldn’t score. In the third, however, Erik Street led off the inning with a walk and came around to score on Jaret DeVellis’s home run that easily cleared the right field fence.

The scoring continued for the Black Hawks in the fourth inning when Stephen Brittin singled to right, went to second on a balk by the pitcher and then scored on a single off the bat of Griffin Davis. After the Perth team scored another run in the top of the fifth to make it a 3-2 ballgame, the Hawks answered right back in the bottom of the frame. Mason Melillo singled to left center, Chris Calo followed with a walk and, after Street reached on an error, Michael Doyle laid down a beautiful suicide squeeze bunt that scored Melillo from third.

The Australian team pushed another run across in the sixth but that was it. David Matthews, Tim Krapf, and Jack Procaccini pitched brilliantly for Newtown. They scattered nine hits over seven innings.

After the game, the Black Hawks gave the Perth team Newtown baseball shirts and car magnets to help them remember their visit to Western Connecticut.